Green Hill School inmates testify in favor of bills that would allow petitions for early release at age 24

Youth Hope Act would allow for earlier release for crimes committed by those under the age of 18

By Emily Fitzgerald  / emily@chronline.com
Posted 1/22/25

Four Green Hill School inmates appeared virtually before the Washington state Senate Committee on Human Services and the state House Committee on Community Safety on Monday to testify in favor of a …

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Green Hill School inmates testify in favor of bills that would allow petitions for early release at age 24

Youth Hope Act would allow for earlier release for crimes committed by those under the age of 18

Posted

Four Green Hill School inmates appeared virtually before the Washington state Senate Committee on Human Services and the state House Committee on Community Safety on Monday to testify in favor of a bill that, if passed, would allow youth with lengthy prison sentences to petition for release before they’re transferred from juvenile rehabilitation centers to Department of Corrections (DOC) custody.

Senate Bill 5266 and its companion bill House Bill 1111, nicknamed the Youth Hope Act, proposes allowing inmates who were sentenced as adults for crimes they committed while under the age of 18 to petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) for release earlier than currently allowed under current state law.

The ISRB is a quasi-judicial board located in the DOC that has jurisdiction over several specific types of cases, including those who were convicted as adults and received lengthy prison sentences for crimes they committed before their 18th birthday.

The ISRB reviews cases, conducts hearings, oversees supervision violation hearings, and provides services to victims of inmates under the ISRB’s jurisdiction.

Currently, juvenile inmates who were sentenced as adults and received lengthy sentences can only petition the ISRB for early release after they’ve served 20 years of their sentence.

The legislation proposes allowing juvenile inmates with lengthy sentences to petition for early release as soon as they turn 24.

With JR to 25 allowing some offenders to serve their sentences in juvenile rehabilitation up until their 25th birthdays, the change in eligibility criteria would allow inmates in juvenile rehabilitation centers the possibility of early release before they’re transferred to an adult DOC facility.

The bill was written by residents of Green Hill School in Chehalis and sponsored by Sen. Noel Frame, D-Greenwood.

Frame previously filed the bill during the 2024 session but it did not pass.

“When young people take accountability for their actions and they do the work to improve their hearts and minds and fully utilize these opportunities for rehabilitation … it feels to me and to the young people who brought this forward that they should have the opportunity to go before the ISRB rather than waiting 20 years, instead having the opportunity to do that before they are transferred to the Department of Corrections at their 25th birthday,” Frame said during a public hearing on the bill in the state Senate on Monday.

The bill does not propose any other eligibility criteria changes for petitioning to the ISRB, so those convicted of disqualifying serious infractions within 12 months of their petition and those convicted of aggravated first-degree murder and certain sex offenses would still not be allowed to petition for early release.

The bill also doesn’t propose any changes to ISRB’s review process or release criteria, but does set a case limit for ISRB, allowing it to only act on 70 petitions per year.

That number was calculated with input from ISRB and accounts for additional funding the board will receive if the bill passes, according to Frame.

Priority would be given to petitioners under the age of 25 who reside in juvenile rehabilitation facilities.

“They want a chance to prove themselves. That is their request. It’s not a promise for early release. It’s hope for a chance,” Frame said, adding that hope will be a key motivator for youth to better themselves while they’re young and their brains are still developing.



“They need to really build these good practices at this age and become productive members of society,” Frame said.

The four Green Hill School inmates who testified before the state Senate on Monday spoke positively of the support and opportunities they’ve received at Green Hill School to reflect on their mistakes and commit themselves to making better choices going forward.

“Over time, I have come to realize that we are responsible for our choices and the consequences that result from those choices,” said Green Hill resident Blake Hoffman. “If we are able to accept this, learn from our own choices and continue to help others in a positive way, I believe it is beneficial for incarcerated youth and our communities to reintegrate us back into society where we can have a positive impact on the next generation and hopefully end the cycle of youth crime.”

Acknowledging that not every Green Hill resident commits to their rehabilitation, the bill would give those that do “an opportunity to be free and successfully be able to come back to the community,” said Green Hill resident Randy Roberson III.

“This bill is an American bill,” said Green Hill resident Kahlev Elkhanan. “What it promises is that youth, if they are willing to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and work to be a better citizen, they should be rewarded with a chance to do this in the public sector. This bill rewards hard work and dedication for taking responsibility and using everything around us to grow into the kind of person that will contribute to a positive society in modern day America.”

“Being incarcerated, we have learned the skills we need to be on the outside, to be in the communities, and what this bill does is it gives us the opportunity to present ourselves, to show that we’ve changed,” said Green Hill resident Caya Lenay.

All four Green Hill School residents who testified in the state Senate on Monday graduated from Centralia College in June 2024 via the college’s program at Green Hill.

Others who testified in favor of SB 5266 on Monday included two Echo Glen Children’s Center residents, Thurston County Supreme Court Judge and Sentencing Guidelines Committee member Sharonda Amamilo, two former juvenile inmates who are now adults working in juvenile rehabilitation, King County Department of Public Defense’s special counsel for criminal policy and practice, and a representative for the nonprofit youth law group TeamChild.

Two speakers, a former victim advocate and Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Executive Director Russell Brown, testified against the bill on Monday on the grounds that contacting victims to inform them of review hearings is retraumatizing for the victims.

Giving those convicted for serious crimes committed as youth the opportunity to petition for release at the age of 24 rather than after serving 20 years of their sentence, Brown said, “fails to appreciate the significant conduct and the significant harm.”

Brown added that early release opportunities violate the “promise” and closure prosecutors gave victims at sentencing and “puts them in a position that’s incredibly unfair.”

Victims have the right to make a statement during release hearings for inmates under the ISRB’s authority, but are not required to, Frame said Monday. 

ISRB has a victim services division that provides a variety of services to victims of crimes committed by inmates within the ISRB’s jurisdiction.

“The Board ensures victims and survivors of crimes are aware of their legal rights and are treated with dignity and respect,” ISRB states on its website.

The full text of the bills, as well as their status in the state Legislature, can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/4rnjzm9b